Samantha working on TripeLux

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti working on the Triplelux experiment during her 2015 Futura mission to the International Space Station.

Triplelux is an ESA investigation into the effects of microgravity on immune cells, using the Biolab facility in Columbus on the International Space Station.

Cells were spun to recreate different levels of gravity, from zero to the level we feel on Earth, allowing researchers to compare samples and exclude other factors in the results.

Although the cells went into disarray in weightlessness, they reacted ultra-rapidly and fully recovered inside 42 seconds.

Samantha commented: "Working on the TripleLux experiment. TripleLux B is an ESA investigation into the effects of microgravity on immune cells, which takes place in the Biolab facility in Columbus. Biolab has required some unplanned maintenance work (a smoke detector quite deep in the belly of the rack had to be replaced) but luckily it was back in shape before the cell cultures expired. TripleLux B operations were successfully completed yesterday. Next up in Biolab is TripleLux A, with the cell cultures arriving soon on SpX-6."

Follow Samantha via samanthacristoforetti.esa.int